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2nd O’Hagan death suspect to change plea

Published 5:15 p.m. ET June 14, 2015

Michael Norrie appears in Caledonia Superior Court in St. Johnsbury in August 2011.(Photo: TODD WELLINGTON/Caledonian-Record)

The second of three Caledonia County men charged in the death of a Sheffield grandmother is set to change his plea in July.

Michael Norrie, 24, of Sheffield has a change of plea hearing scheduled for July 21 in Vermont Superior Court in St. Johnsbury, according to court records. Attempts to reach Caledonia County State’s Attorney Lisa Warren and Norrie’s lawyer Rob Sussman for more information were unsuccessful Sunday afternoon.

Norrie is one of three men charged in the September 2010 killing Mary “Pat” O’Hagan, 78, in her home during a botched burglary in 2010.

Norrie has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping and burglary in connection with O’Hagan’s death.

Richard Fletcher, 28, of Sheffield agreed to plead guilty in March to burglary, kidnapping and related offenses in exchange for his cooperation in the cases against Keith Baird, 34, and Norrie. A plea agreement calls for Fletcher, who is in prison on another conviction, to serve a minimum of 15 years. Murder charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement, and sentencing will take place after the remaining trials.

Fellow Sheffield resident Baird was set to be tried separately from Norrie, but trial dates have not been scheduled in his case as of Sunday. He was sentenced in March in an unrelated case to 12 1/2 to 17 1/2 years in prison for 30 felony counts of violating an abuse prevention order from prison for contacting a former girlfriend.

According to Vermont State Police, O’Hagan was shot in the back of her head with a handgun on the night of Sept. 10, 2010. Police said she was shot inside her Sheffield home on Vermont 122 during a nighttime intrusion. Her body was found by bird hunters in the woods of Wheelock, 10 miles from her house, about three weeks later.

The three men were considered possible suspects as soon as 11 days after O’Hagan’s body was found, according to a court affidavit. Charges were officially filed in 2014.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell and Warren initially said there was not enough evidence to charge the trio. After Warren consulted Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage, Warren filed charges.

State police Detective Sgt. Jason Letourneau wrote in the affidavit that Norrie indicated the three men had done crystal meth and were looking to obtain money for more drugs the night of the break-in.

Norrie, who was arrested on an unrelated federal firearms charge in 2011, was sentenced in November 2013 to almost five years in prison for that case. According to a federal offender database, it appears Norrie was released from federal custody this April. He remains in custody on state charges at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, according to a state offender database.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LizMurraySMC. Contact Mike Donoghue at 660-1845 or mdonoghue@freepressmedia.com Follow Mike on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FreepsMikeD.